We are so very excited about the amazing speakers and wonderful sponsors we have lined up for The Fat Activism Conference this year that we can’t possibly wait until October to tell you all about them. So we’re continuing with our pre-conference interviews from a few of them every week so you can see what an amazing group we’ve got lined up for The Fat Activism Conference on October 6-8, 2017. It’s an online conference so you can listen online or by phone from wherever you are. Don’t wait to register – Hurry to get your spot now!

Ivy Felicia is dedicated to helping people strengthen their love for themselves. Ivy is a certified holistic wellness coach, a motivational speaker, a body image and body acceptance expert, a coach with over 3 years of acclaimed service, and a passionate public advocate for body acceptance and diversity. She has offered body image coaching to people of all sizes, offering strength, peace, and radical self-love to all who struggle to achieve it.

Through her own powerful journey to body acceptance, Ivy has developed an innovative system of Body Relationship CoachingTM. By using simple strategies, mindful accountability techniques, intuitive listening, and ongoing training, Ivy facilitates shifts in mindset and perspective that help people achieve positive, sustainable changes in their relationship with their body.

No matter what stage of life a person is in, no matter what body they have, no matter their health complications, or their lingering feelings from the past, Ivy teaches that body peace is possible, that self-love is a choice, and that body freedom is a birthright.

What does Fat Activism mean to you?

I believe that Fat Activism is simply about doing the work to ensure that people who navigate the world in a larger body are treated with dignity, afforded equal opportunities, and given the resources necessary for them to thrive in life as they wish.

Why do you think Fat Activism is important?

I feel that Fat Activism is important because discrimination, exclusion, and aggression towards fat people are issues that affect their quality of life and overall well-being. By working towards inclusion and equality for fat people through activism we are inevitably ensuring that they have access to resources that will enable them to flourish and thrive in every area of life. When fat people are able to thrive, they are able to positively impact our society and in turn that is a benefit for all people.

Can you give us a hint of what we’ll hear from you at the conference?

Holistic wellness has a tremendous potential to help people experience enhanced well-being and connect with their bodies from a place of compassion. However, due to marginalization and exclusion many people will never get to experience the benefits that holistic wellness has to offer. It’s time to change the narrative and redefine holistic wellness in a way that makes it inclusive all people. I’ve already begun and in this presentation I share ways that you can join me.

Can you provide us with a link where people can learn more about you or connect with you?

Hilary Kinavey and Dana Sturtevant – Reclaiming Body Trust in a World Filled with Weight Bias

What does Fat Activism mean to you?

All oppression is connected, and unfortunately, weight stigma is often left out of dialogue about discrimination. Fat activists make the lived experience of being fat visible, known and understood. Fat activism helps to name, address and unravel the harm that could otherwise be internalized.

We want to help create a world where people can live authentically and be unapologetic about how much space they take up in the world. Much of our work is focused on addressing the rampant fat phobia in health care settings, including the eating disorder treatment community. We work to create a future where people feel safe and receive respectful, non-biased health care. When we stop pathologizing and stigmatizing certain bodies, people will be better able to live compassionately in the bodies they have today, and feel worthy of love and belonging regardless of size. The existence of fat activism creates a collective voice—we are holding each other up and have the power to address the systems that need radical change.

Why do you think Fat Activism is important?

Kids today are growing up in a weight- and food-focused culture, and as a result, body shame, disordered eating, and food worry start at young ages. Many of the clients we’ve worked with over the years have lived their entire lifetimes completely disconnected from their body, repeating a cycle of shame, deprivation, and backlash eating. Unfortunately, many well-intentioned health care providers are steeped in diet culture, and end up promoting myths and leaning into personal responsibility rhetoric while ignoring the social determinants of health. We are also concerned about the rampant weight bias in eating disorder treatment settings and until we address this, recovery will remain elusive and incomplete for many.

Can you give us a hint of what we’ll hear from you at the conference?

We believe body trust is a birthright that gets hijacked in our youth, and we’ll be offering strategies and a process for reclaiming it.

Can you provide us with a link where people can learn more about you or connect with you?

I have been conducting research on the stigma of weight for over 30 years. My own activism is to get women and members of oppressed groups to publish. So much of what has been written about women, about fat people, etc. has been by thin white men in lab coats. Once something is in print it will be available for thousands of years! My aim is to get more people to publish about fat studies and fat activism.

Why do you think Fat Activism is important?

Fat people are visible in our bodies but also made invisible by society in the sense that news coverage, marketing, etc. is focused on people who are at the “norm,” leaving out members of oppressed groups. So it’s time that we throw our weight around! I advocate fat visibility through publishing, because it’s hard to destroy the published word, and published writing will be available for centuries and across the world. The 1960s were a time of civil rights groups–for people of color, LGBT people, women, etc. At that time some of these organizations published informal newsletters, many of which are quite valuable now, saved in archives, and used in college courses. I want to make sure that early writing on fat activism is also published for future generations.

Can you give us a hint of what we’ll hear from you at the conference?

I want to show that publishing is a political act. Fat activists, like members of other oppressed groups, are rarely mentored by leaders in the publishing word on how to make their ideas into print. So I will talk about ways to find time to write (few people are paid full time to write), how to get invited to publish (believe it or not, editors are often looking for authors), how to submit writing to sources (newspapers, newsletters, articles and books) in unsolicited ways (when you don’t know the editor personally and she/he doesn’t know you), and how to deal with fat-phobic feedback.

Can you provide us with a link where people can learn more about you or connect with you?

We are so happy to have BEDA as one of our Platinum Sponsors for 2017!

The Binge Eating Disorder Association does amazing work providing leadership in the recognition, prevention, and treatment of Binge Eating Disorder (BED) in people of all sizes, as well as working intersectionally to increase fat positivity in Eating Disorder Community and the world, which makes them a perfect partner for the Fat Activism Conference! Find out more at http://bedaonline.com/